Valisi of the Cinder Clan
"We have grown too comfortable with the old ways, but it is clear to me now that the old ways died with Taliesin, and we must start anew." - ''Valisi to the people of Ravina Valisi of the Cinder Clan is a catfolk mage and subsequent ruler of Ravina. She is the uttermost middle child of her parents, Sabin and Amara. For some time, she was the chief magic user of Ice-C Sugar 3000's Wild Cirque. After she left, she became the first true queen of Ravina. Appearance Like most of the Ravinan catfolk, Valisi has all black fur. She has long black hair adorned with gold jewellery, which are themselves fashioned with rubies. She classically donnes a long, thin, red dress. Her eyes are a sharp, bright yellow and Valisi was known for her beauty. Personality When Valisi was first sent from Ravina to aid her family's financial issues, she was an ignorant and spoilt woman who was used to people doing all the hard work for her. Overtime the heart she always had developed and she quickly came to care for her friends around her. She has always been proud and somewhat squeamish, and has a high libido, which she uses not only for fun but for tactical advantage also. Despite her lack of worldly wisdom, she is incredibly intelligent, boasting high magical prowess. By the time she left Ice-C Sugar 3000's Wild Cirque, Valisi was powerful and knew that, as nobility, she had to represent and help her people, not just her family. Story Pre-Campaign Valisi was born the middle child to Sabin and Amara, in a jungle somewhere considerably south of Ravina. Her older siblings are Tal and Shina, whilst her younger twin sisters are Cara and Lilli. Her grandfather, Hadeya, moved the clan north up to the most north-eastern point of the Ravinan desert and founded the Cinder Clan. Valisi's father Sabin died on the way. As Valisi was alive during this journey she had to work with the others to survive it and be healthy, thus beginning her learning of magic. She had a natural talent that would go unused properly for time after the comforts of Ravina grew around her. In Ravina she befriended Cacia and Kaia. At some point Valisi had a short sexual fling with Gabriel, but it didn't go anywhere. What ''did ''go somewhere was her on and off again relationship with the royal guard Ra. The two were good friends which, as they got older, developed into a sexual but not necessarily romantic relationship. Ra would pursue it romantically, but Valisi never responded the same way. When her grandfather died, the throne of Ravina passed to her older brother Tal. As the family's financial situation worsened, Valisi was selected by her mother, Tal, and adviser Nermal to venture south into the rest of Wrescent to find financial aid. She was picked due to her magical abilities, whereas Shina had a child on the way and Tal was already king. Her younger sisters were born in Ravina, and therefore did not have her affinity for magic. Campaign Valisi was escorted to Dvorak to begin her search for help. While she was there, The Eye in the Sky appeared and the Dvorakian city council closed the city gates for an entire month to prevent anyone entering or leaving whilst they worked out what was going on. On the first day that the gates opened, Valisi was approached and publicly shouted at by an enigmatic dwarven scholar named Godkins. He implored for Valisi's help in investigating the Eye in the Sky, but she refused. The scene drew the attention of the drow paladin Elora and orcish monk Prajna Sila. Having been rescued from the scene by these two, Valisi joined them on a mission south to the Starlit Wilds for Elora's church. They managed to make their journey there by acting as guards for a merchant caravan lead by two gnomish brothers, Dimbolt Dumbolt and Thirrold Dumbolt. Thus marked Valisi's entrance into Ice-C Sugar 3000's Wild Cirque. Along the way to the Starlit Wilds, Valisi struck up a friendship with Elora. She noticed Elora's coldness to the world, and learnt how Elora had been an orphan who had never had anything of her own. As a sign of goodwill, Valisi endeavoured to teach Elora about all things beautiful. During the night, Ice-C Sugar 3000's Wild Cirque was attacked by orc bandits. While they were able to slay most of them, one escape on Dimbolt's horse. The group stopped at the nearby Duskway Manor to see if they could find a replacement horse. Fortunately, this was also the location of Elora's mission: to retrieve a strange item that fell from the sky. The group were accosted by the head of the manor, Lord Harold Rubix who separated them into three rooms. Valisi was with Lord Rubix, where she used her sexual prowess to manipulate him and get on her good side. Unfortunately she was caught by the Lord's wife, Lady Ruby Rubix. Valisi managed to get herself, Prajna, and Elora out into the manor grounds to find the item that fell from the sky. It seemed like it attracted monstrous lizard creatures towards it. They were able to take one of the lizards and use it as a new mount for Dimbolt Dumbolt's caravan. On their way out two of Lord Rubix's guards broke into combat, both ending up slain. Elora performed the funeral rights for Billy, and Lord Rubix decided to convert to The Order of Scalding Light. From there they headed north up to Halberd Heights. On the way they were ambushed by members of The Family, including Newtsquawk Taavi. After the battle they rescued a human woman named Alexandre. It was revealed that this woman was one of the ladies from the orphanage that Elora was from. There they met Pargotte, Grund, Greasy Lisa, Marion, and Jenny. At the orphanage they discovered that all the children had been kidnapped by The Family after one of the orphanage workers revealed a secret way in. After learning the location of the children from Marion, Valisi and company headed there to rescue them. At the tower they battled a woman by the name of Aunt Jane who transformed into a monster. After defeating her, they managed to rescue the children, whose energy seemed to be absorbed to power Jane. They rested in the tower during the night. Valisi awoke to one of the members of The Family, whom she recognised to be Tia, the kidnapped daughter of Valisi's childhood friend Kaia. After Tia fled, Prajna awoke and hugged Valisi. After returning the children to the orphanage, Valisi and company continued northwards to Halberd Heights, the main headquarters of The Order of Scalding Light in Wrescent. When they were there they met Palazza, Elora's previous master. While recovering there they noted that Prajna vanished. During their sadness they bumped into Lord Harold Rubix again, who preferred the term Harry. They met a dwarven paladin by the name of Sir Grevnak who presented Elora with a question. The Order had discovered a childlike krococid within the mountains just west of Halberd Heights. The Order wished to execute him as he was from Giddah, and they were worried about an invasion or scout. Harry convinced Valisi and company to keep the krococid with them instead of execute him, where they learnt he referred to himself as Lil' Snip. Valisi, Elora, and Lil' Snip decided to return to Dvorak. They cut through the Lost Woods, where they got lost. However they encountered a drow man who, after aggressive banter and threatening to rape Valisi, left. After returning to Dvorak and its slums they found themselves in Elora's church. After seeing Roger drunken and indisposed they discovered a trap left by The Family to spite Elora again. They dealt with it competently and decided to look for work afterwards, as Valisi needed money. They encountered the dwarf Godkins again who hired them to research The Eye in the Sky. They met a mutant by the name of Tanis Twice Sould who had also been hired by Godkins for the same expedition. Valisi and Tanis began flirting, much to the annoyance of Elora who had developed romantic feelings for Valisi. The group headed the the Dvorakian High Library and did research, where they learnt that the last known refuge of the High Elves was in the northern most regent of Wrescent. The nearest known civilisation to said place was Ravina, so they ventured north. On their way north Valisi, Elora, Snip, Godkins, and Tanis bonded. Valisi and Tanis' relationship continued to grow, and although not romantic she began to have a fondness for North Wind, who was Tanis' twin brother of whom he shared a body. The group were attacked by what appeared to be desert bandits. They were a group of hyenafolk who, unlike the catfolk of the Cinder Clan, were natives to the region. They were foot soldiers of the Arid Clan. After they arrived in Ravina Valisi learnt how, since her departure a few months previously, the financial situation had worsened. Her brother, King Tal,had gambled with the Arid Clan and lost money he didn't have. Plenty of arguments happened that Valisi was privy too. First Tanis and Valisi's ex lover, Ra, clashed. Then Elora and Ra clashed, then Elora and Tanis clashed. Valisi cast ''Cage ''on Elora to control her rage and subsequently they did not speak again for a few days, as Elora's pride was hurt too much. That night, she and Tanis slept together. The next day, the head of the clan, Ajani, had decided to pay a visit to get his owed debts. Valisi considered her brother an incompetent king and planned on usurping him for the betterment of Ravina. Before this could be done however, Ajani and a small army arrived at Ravina, ready to sack the place. To appease him, Valisi let herself be sexually taken advantage of by Ajani and two of his men. Although Valisi did not tell anyone of this, Snip witnessed the entire event as he was hidden behind a curtain within the room. As per to their agreement, Ajani gave Valisi one week to make up the money that Tal owed the Arid Clan before he returned. On conversing with her mother Amara and adviser/alchemist Nermal, Valisi learnt of a stronghold to the mountains in the north of the desert. It was suspected that subsequent wealth may be found there. Before they left Nermal revealed to Valisi something. They had sent a group of scouts north to this keep a few months earlier, but only one ever returned. She returned with no fur (for she was a catfolk) and was aggressive with larger pointed fangs. She did not speak to them properly, and hissed at the sunlight. As Valisi was about to experiment with one of two vials of clear liquid, Snip broke them. They did, however, take a vial of silver nitrate, after Snip proceeded to kill the naked catfolk with magnesium sulphate. On their journey up north, tensions were rough. Tanis had, for some reason, stopped talking to Valisi as much, which annoyed her. Elora seemed in higher spirits for some reason. Valisi noticed that even Snip seemed agitated about something, although he got on together better with Tanis and North Wind than before. As they camped one night, the group were ambushed by a group of spectral humanoids, who were revealed to be vampires. After fending them off, they proceeded into the vampire's keep. Using her ''Invisibility ''spell, Valisi was able to help Ice-C Sugar 3000's Wild Cirque sneak throughout the keep. They still battled vampires on the way however. They also managed to rescue some of the vampire's thralls who, although many had Stockholm syndrome. In particular they rescued Darren. On their way they discovered interesting facts: paintings, and a crown, from the days of the high elves. They also discovered that silver was a vampire's weakness. Having come so far, they decided to clear out the keep entirely of vampires. It was revealed during the combat that Tanis had been bitten and subsequently turned into a vampire. After a short rest the group discovered that Tanis was gone. They headed up to the top floor where, on the way, Valisi found a potion of Pure Life. On the top floor they battled the master vampire and Tanis, who had been manipulated into fighting against them. After defeating the vampire and forcing Tanis to drink the potion, they returned south to Ravina. When they returned with their new found wealth, it was agreed by Tal that he was not fit to rule. He abdicated the throne and it was passed onto Valisi. After making an emotional speech to the people of Ravina, Valisi decided to leave Ice-C Sugar 3000's Wild Cirque to help reinvent Ravina. Elora begged her to stay, to which she refused. It was here that Tanis declared his undying love for Valisi, asking her if she would take him on to serve her as a knight. She politely refused, and Ice-C Sugar 3000's Wild Cirque continued on without her. Queen of Ravina As queen of Ravina, Valisi's first action was to scrub up the slovenly ways of her predecessors. She inspired the people of Ravina to work for an increase of economic fortune, rather than just living off the success of the past. With her acquaintance to Dimbolt Dumbolt she was able to start trade caravans to and from Ravina to the rest of Wrescent. At some point, Valisi wrote letters to Elora and Tanis. The letter to Elora read as follows: ''"Elora! My sweet friend, I miss you so much. Ravina has grown so much – how is everyone? I would love for you to visit. How is Snip? Is he surviving out there? I know you will be. I will keep this short and sweet as I have another (boring) business meeting to attend. Stay smiling. Valisi *pawprint and a kiss mark*" At a slightly later date, Valisi met the lionfolk man Kalahari. They quickly fell in love and were married. Although Ravina fared better with Valisi as its queen, relations with the Arid Clan continued to be problematic. On an extended venture into trade, Valisi sent Ra into Giddah to further establish trade communications. Epilogue After the disbanding of Ice-C Sugar 3000's Wild Cirque, Valisi was soon visited by Tanis Twice Sould, now alone. Here he explained the news of Elora's subsequent transformation into a flamewraith, and the death of her conscious form. Together they mourned her loss, but during this time Valisi revealed to Tanis that she was pregnant. Some months later, Valisi and Kalahari ventured into the deserts of Ravina alone after hearing rumours of Flamewraith Myrymma, Scorcher of Skin and Bone and The Cursed Child of Doran in the nearby vicinity. After discovering her, and an intense deadly battle, Kalahari and Valisi together were able to destroy the body of Valisi's former friend once and for all, putting the spirit at rest. Relationships Elora Valisi and Elora quickly became close, trusting friends. Where the latter became enamoured with Valisi, the catfolk princess' feelings remained platonic. In seeing how Elora had spent her life in the gritty and physical conditions of Halberd Heights, Valisi endeavoured to show her friend what it was to enjoy the more beautiful things in life. This included relaxation, eating decadent foods, and dressing elegantly. Though Elora did not respond to these themes as much as Valisi may have hoped, this never deterred their friendship. Their friendship did become somewhat strained when Tanis Twice Sould entered the picture. Elora grew distant with Valisi when she began to suspect that Valisi's attentions were more spent on Tanis. Elora believed that Valisi would abandon her for Tanis. After Tanis and Valisi's partial breakup, Elora returned to her friend with more enthusiasm than before... only to be heartbroken and jaded when Valisi announced her plan to stay in Ravina. Valisi tried to keep their relationship going strong by writing letters to Elora who, although upset by her friend's actions, understood perfectly. Their relationship reached its conclusion when Elora was consumed by the will of Doran. Valisi and her then husband Kalahari destroyed Elora's body and put her soul to rest. Tanis Twice Sould Valisi met Tanis after they were both hired by Godkins, in Dvorak. The two were instantly attracted to one another, and began flirting. For Valisi, this was commonplace whenever she and another were attracted to each other. Tanis however quickly felt that Valisi was "the one", and romantically longed for her to be his wife. The two eventually slept together during a trying time at Ravina, as they were each a sign of comfort the other. However, shortly after this Valisi realised that she did not, in fact, have romantic feelings for Tanis. She still regarded him fondly. After Valisi decided to stay in Ravina, Tanis felt that the presence of Ice-C Sugar 3000's Wild Cirque would be a constant reminder of his lost love, and he left. It took Tanis several months to get over the loss of who he believed to be the love of his life. He wrote a letter to Valisi everyday which he always told himself he would send, although he never did. After rejoining Ice-C Sugar 3000's Wild Cirque nearly a year later, he wrote one of the aforementioned letters: "Dear Valisi, I’m sorry for not writing yesterday. I met up with Elora and Snip and as always things fell apart. They were on the same train as me hunting some dark elf man. Apparently Elora was being hunted by him, I’m not exactly sure why. Something about her being a race traitor? She seems to have calmed down somewhat over the past few months. I know you hoped we’d get along. Maybe now so far away from you there might be an actual chance for us to reconcile. I’ll give it a try at least. Yours til the end of time, Tanis" After Tanis and Elora's relationship was fixed, Tanis felt he was finally able to get over Valisi. He even ended up finally visiting her. Although he never returned to Ravina a third time, he did actually have letter correspondence with Valisi... after starting his own family. Lil' Snip Like Elora, Valisi and Snip very quickly bonded. Unlike Elora, their relationship was founded on Valisi's appreciation for Snip's talent with a gun. When Snip's lack of intellectual development was made clear, Valisi wished to protect Snip from more sensitive topics such as sex, as well as the physical dangers of vampires. Even after Valisi left Snip's company, she still referred him in letters. North Wind Although Valisi appreciated North Wind in aiding the group, she found him to be brutish and annoying. Her distaste for the man also probably had something to do with the fact he kept Tanis from seeing her. Ra Ra and Valisi had known each other for a long time where, when they reached the age of maturity, they began a sexual relationship. Ra often wished this to be a romantic one also, but Valisi never felt this way. Valisi was attracted by Ra's confidence and domineering nature in the bedroom. Despite this nature, he respected her wishes and did not do anything against her will. Stats and Abilities Stats Valisi was played using the Wizard class from the base Dungeon World playbooks. By the time Valisi was retired, she was level 6. She had 17hp and had a d4 damage dice. Moves * Spellbook * Prepare Spells * Cast a Spell * Spell Defence * Ritual * Arcane Armour * Empowered Magic * Logical * Prodigy Spells Cantrips * Light (Alteration) * Unseen Servant (Summoning) * Prestidigitation (Illusion) * Sharp Claws (Illusion) (homebrew race move for catfolk) Level One * Telepathy (Divination) * Invisibility (Illusion) * Magic Missile (Evocation) (made cantrip) * Charm Person (Enchantment) Level Three * Fireball (Evocation) * Dispel Magic (Alteration) Level Five * Cage (Evocation) * Polymorph (Alteration) Category:Player Characters